Try this KS3 Geography quiz all about river landscapes. Rivers are the links in the water cycle that return water from the atmosphere to the seas. They begin in upland areas and flow downhill, affecting the landscape around them. In the upland areas, a river valley has a V-shape. The course of the river is affected by the rocks over which it flows. Outcrops of harder rocks in the form of spurs in the valley cause it to constantly change direction. The river is fast flowing and erodes the landscape, moving material from the uplands to the lowlands and all the way to the sea.
In some places, the courses of two rivers meet making a larger river. This is called a confluence and the two rivers are called tributaries. Some of the largest of the world's rivers have thousands of tributaries. In the lowlands, the flow is much slower and so the river meanders through the landcscape. On the outside of one of these meanders (bends) the flow of water is faster and the river bank is eroded. On the inside of a meander, where the flow is slower, deposition takes place.
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You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Rivers and Water
Some tributaries can be quite large rivers themselves e.g. the River Dove which flows into the River Trent at Newton Solney
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Because the river is cutting downwards in a 'V'
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Confluences can be quite spectacular - try an internet search for 'amazing river confluences' some time and you will see what we mean!
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The source is where a river starts
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Soft rock erodes faster and leaves a 'step' for the water to fall vertically
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Meanders are found in the lowest sections of river valleys
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When a river floods, it is often described as having 'burst its banks'
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The water here is deeper and if the bank is just soil, it will be continually eroded, collapsing little by little into the river
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It deposits material as it slows down and loses power
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They are best seen in the upper part of a valley
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